Child escorted on final ride after brutal shooting death

Monday

Jul 13, 2009 at 12:37 AM

Friends and family laid 8-year-old Heather Brooke Center to rest on Sunday, four days after an enraged gunman shot her four times.

By JASON SPENCERjasonspencer@shj.com

DUNCAN -- The small, light pink casket appeared all the more delicate as a few hundred motorcycles roared alongside, in front of and behind it.It was pulled in a two-wheel carriage with glass walls. The side read, "Black Stallion Motorcycle Hearse"; the back, "Ride to Eternity." A bouquet of wildflowers adorned the center of the casket.Inside lay Heather Brooke Center, who in eight short years of life touched hundreds of souls."She had that effect on people," said her father, Bobby Center Jr., after a short graveside service at Wood Memorial Park."That was picked especially for her," he said of the casket. "She picked wildflowers all the time. That's why we went with them."Brooke was brutally shot down on Wednesday, and the estranged husband of her father's girlfriend has been charged with her murder. Center's girlfriend had invited Brooke to go swimming at her daughter's home near Chesnee. There, they encountered an enraged Ricky Lee Blackwell, 50, who pulled Brooke from the car and shot her four times, investigators have said.Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty against Blackwell.The violent loss of the child struck a chord with many in the community."She never frowned," 8-year-old Hunter Sloan said. He said Brooke was his first girlfriend.They used to play in District 5 Little League together and would hold hands on the field. She had a picture of him on the night stand beside her bed, his parents said. Hunter tells his mother: "She'll always be my Brookie."

"She could have come swimming here because we have a pool. And then maybe she'd still be with us," said Beth Rogers, Hunter's mom. "It breaks your heart because you can't really explain it to them (the children) when you don't understand it yourself."Hunter's father, John Sloan, coached the Mets team of 5- and 6-year-olds that Brooke once played on. She was the only girl.Sloan remembered the first time she was on third base and the ball was hit to send her home. He told her to run, turned to watch the ball, then looked back. She had disappeared.Parents were in the stands pointing to the other team's dugout. He laughed. He had to convince her to run to home plate. It was her first score."She just smiled and gave me a high five," Sloan said. "I'll never forget her."Danny Hines, who works with Center at a company that produces roofing products, said he would see Brooke often because Center would bring his children to work."She was a beautiful girl," Hines said. "To be taken away from us at that young age, it's a tragedy. She's probably No. 1 in line in heaven right now to be an angel. She was beautiful. She was kind. She had her manners about her. You couldn't ask for a sweeter child."

As the crowd dispersed in the hot afternoon, family, friends and complete strangers hugged Center and shook his hand, many offering to be there in case he needed anything -- whether he wanted to grab a cup of coffee, a drink or just talk on the phone. Complete strangers. Anything."I want to thank these guys who rode with us today," Center said. "There's no way I can ever repay them for the feeling that I got from what they did. I kept telling them that my daughter was in heaven smiling down on all of them."

Organizers estimated about 500 motorcycles waited outside of the Stribling Funeral Home in downtown Duncan while a small, private service was held. A few led the pack, followed by the hearse, two cars for the family and the rest of the bikes to the grave site.At first, the Patriot Riders -- who typically come out primarily for veterans funerals and other events -- were on board. But as word got out, scores of other bikers, individually and in groups, wanted to be a part of the procession.People in Duncan sat in their yards or on their vehicles along the route to the cemetery."It's a biker thing," Ron "Eagle Man" Forbes said. "One of these bikes right here is Bobby's. He would take her riding all the time. She loved it. When the call came out that something happened … Bikers are a family. And this is what you do for your family."Forbes has a small picture of Brooke and a graphic of a single candle beside it on his MySpace page. He said he'd never been a part of a funeral procession for someone so young."It rips my heart out," he said. "I've a got a little 4-year-old at home."Brooke was a rising third-grader at Reidville Elementary School. She was playing in the 7- and 8-year-old Little League Dodgers team.The Dodgers were honorary pallbearers Sunday.

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